Printing machine



Oct. 10, 1944. L. H. MORSE PRINTING MACHINE Original Filed July 21, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet l laarrerza'e AC/F Oct. 10, 1944. H. MORSE PRINTING MACHINE Original Filed July 21, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 10, 1944. L. H. MORSE PRINTING MACHINE Original Filed July 21, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 l. V 1' o 4 l l U 5 4 I v 1 J. m I v v I, I. I I s :2 QR 55 E m I. I. I v h r e .u v 1 I 2 it I u v I 2 p F n Patented Oct. 10, 1944 v PRINTING MACHINE Lawrence H. Morse, Mentor, Ohio, assignor to Addressograph-Multigraph Corporation,

Wil-

mington, Del., a corporation of Delaware Original application July 21, 1941, Serial No.

403,282. Divided and this application Decembe! 24, 1943, Serial Claims. ('01. 271-36) This application is a division of my copending application Serial No, 403,282, filed July 21, 1941, on Printing machines.

This invention relates to a sheet separating device of the character which may be employed, for example, in conjunction with printing machines such as that shown in my aforesaid application.

In the use of various kinds of printing machines such, for example, as printing machines wherein impressions are made at printing position from a series of individual printing devices advanced one by one to such printing position, it often becomes desirable to feed sheets and the like to printing position automatically and in succession to have the printed impressions formed on such sheets. Where this is to be done, the sheets must, of course, be separated one by one from a stack or supply thereof, and to enable this to be accomplished in a simple and effective manner is the primary object of this invention.

In the attainment of the desired separating action upon a stack or supply of sheets, booklets, circulars, or the like, such stack may be advantageously maintained in a continuous operative relationship to a sheet separating means by disposing the stack in a sloping gravity feed magazine so that the stack of sheets or the like will sl'de downwardly therein and thereby maintain the leading one of the sheets in the desired relationship to the sheet separating means. As a practical matter it is found that the slope of such a supply magazine must be adjusted in accord-.

ance with the thickness, .weight, stiffness, and other variable characteristics of the sheets that are to be fed therefrom, and to enable such adjustment to be accomplished in a sheet feeder while maintaining the desired operative relationship between the sheet separating means and the sheet advancing means of the sheet feeder is still another object of this invention.

Other and further objects of the present invention will be apparent from the following description and claims and by reference to the accompanying drawings which, by way of illustration, show a preferred embodiment and the principles thereof and what I now consider to be the best mode in which I have contemplated applying those principles. Other embodiments of the invention embodying the same or equivalent min-- ciples may be used and structural changes may be made as desired by those skilled in the art without departing from the present invention and the purview of the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. 1 is an enlarged fragmentary view showing the new sheet separating means associated with a sheet storage magazine or supply hopper and delivery mechanism of a character which may be employed in conjunction with printing machines such as that disclosed in my aforesaid application;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged central vertical sectional view showing the relationship of the sheet separating means to the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper and sheet advancing means associated therewith;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary plan view taken along line 3-3 in Fig. 2 showing details of the detecting means embodied in the sheet separating mechanism and which in use serves to stop operation of the sheet separating means in the event that a sheet is not separated thereby from the sheet storage magazine or in the event that more than one sheet is separated at a time;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view showing the mounting and relationship of various elements of the new sheet separating means and associated parts disposed below the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary perspective view ofthe new sheet separating device showing the parts from a different angle than that in which they are shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

The printing machine shown in my aforesaid application, and which illustrates a typical printing machine with which the new sheet separating device may be used, comprises a framework including a horizontally extending table top or bed along which sheets may be fed one at a time into position to have printing or other operations performed thereon, and subsequent to which printing or other operations the printed sheets are deposited in a suitable collecting means therefor.

As shown in the drawings, the new sheet separating device is generally indicated at 400 and is associated with an adjustable hopper or sheet storage magazine 0 disposed above the level of the bed of the printing machine with which the sheet se arating means is to be used. The new sheet segarating device 400 is disposed just to the right of the supply hopper or sheet storage magazine M0 in a supporting structure 462-463 so that sheets separated and fed one by one by the separating means in a right-hand direction from the supply hopper 4!0 are advanced mto a guideway 500-50! which in practice may extend transversely across the entire width of the table top of the printing machine with which it s used, as shown in my aforesaid copending application, The guideway 500-50! has suitable sheet advancing means associated therewith and said sheet advancing means is shown as comprising one or more endless fabric belts H3 and a holddown means I which maintains each sheet in operative frictional engagement with at least one of the belts 3. Thus when a sheet has been fed into the guideway 500-50l beneath the holddown means 4 and on top of one or more of the belts 3, this sheet is advanced to the right across the table top of the machine in accordance with the driven speed of the belts 4!3.

The supply hopper or sheet storage magazine 0 associated with the new sheet separating device is so constructed that it may be readily adjusted for receiving sheets of different heights or sizes, and in addition is so constructed and arranged as to permit variation or adjustment in the angle of slope of the supply hopper or sheet storage magazine. To this end a supporting frame 510 is provided for the hopper 0, the supporting frame 510 being in the form of a bail having a cross member 51! and arms 512. The

arms 512 are spaced apart in such an extent that they are disposed just inwardly of the two mounting plates 462 and 463, and the ends of the arms 512 are pivotally mounted on the axis of a roller 515 which, as will hereinafter be described in detail, constitutes a part of the sheet advancing means with which the new sheet separating device is associated. Thus the roller 515 is located relatively close to the entrance throatof the guideway 50050!, and the axis of the roller 515 is somewhat above the upper surfaces of the side rails 420 or 42! of the sheet feeder in which the new sheet separating device is, in the present instance, employed.

In the present instance the roller 515 is disposed above the idler roller 46! over which the endless belts 4! 3 travel and is supported in suitable bearings in the mounting plates 462 and 463. Thus the supporting bail 510 may be moved about the axis of the roller 515 to different angles, and such adjustment is attained by means of a pair of links 518 which are connected between the side members 512 of the bail and the lefthand end portions of the front and the side. rails 420 and 42! of the printing machine with which the new sheet separating device is employed. Each link 518 has its upper end pivoted to the adjacent one of the side members 512, and each link has a longitudinal slot 519 formed therein through which a wing-headed clamping screw 580 extends into threaded engagement with the adjacent side rail 420 or 42! of the sheet feeder frame with which the new sheet separating device is employed.

For the purpose of mounting the various elements upon the supporting bail 510, a plurality of transversely extending mounting bars 58!, 582, 583 and 584 extend in spaced relation between the two side members 512, all of these members being parallel to the cross member 51! and to the roller 515. The two cross bars 562 and 504 are in the present instance utilized in attaining the desired adjustable mounting of the supply hopper or sheet storage magazine 4 l 0.

As shown herein the supply hopper or sheet storage magazine 410 comprises two side walls or sections 590 and 590' preferably formed from sheet metal (Figs. 1 and 4). One side wall or section 590 of the hopper 4!0 has an upwardly extending flange 59! and a bottom flange 592 which extends in a rearward direction to form a bottom surface for the forward portion of the supply hopper 4 III. The other side wall or section 590' of the supply hopper has an upwardly extending rear side portion 58! and a forwardly extending bottom flange 592' which serves to provide a bottom surface for the rear portion of the supply hopper. Each of the side walls or sections of the supply hopper has mounting means in the form of a pair of spaced brackets 593 and 594 secured to the bottom surface of the bottom flange thereof, each of the two brackets 593 and 594 having a U-shaped roove or notch formed therein to embrace one of the mounting rods 582 or 564. Suitable set screws 595 are provided in the several mounting brackets 593 and 594 whereby the supply hopper sections may be secured in the desired relationship upon the mounting rods 582 and 584.

When a supply of sheets, envelopes or the like have been properly fanned and placed in the" supply hopper 0, as shown in Fig. 1 of the drawings, the supply of sheets moves by gravity down the sloping bottom surface of the supply hopper M0 to an extent determined by the separating means which feeds the lower or righthand one of the sheets in succession and one by one out of the supply hopper. 1 When a sheet is to be advanced to printing position, the separating means is operated to withdraw the first or leading sheet from the hopper 4!!! and move it in the general direction of the receiving throat of the feed tapes or belts M3.

The new sheet separating means, which forms the subject matter of the present invention and application, includes a rotatable separating roller 600 which engages the upper or right-hand surface of the leading one of the sheets in the supply hopper or storage magazine 4!!) and a stationary lower or retard roller 60! which engages the leading edge and in some instances a portion of the bottom surface of the leading sheet in the supply hopper.

In a general sense it may be said that the two rollers 600 and, 60! constitute a caliper means which is adjusted in accordance with the thickness, stiffness and other characteristics of the sheets which are being fed from the supply hopper or storage magazine 0 so as to cause the sheets to be fed one at a time therefrom. Where relatively large sheets are being fed from the supply hopper or storage magazine 4! 0, one or more supplemental rollers 600' may be rendered operative, these supplemental rollers 600' being coaxial with the roller 600. In each feeding movement the separating roller 600 is rotated in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 of the drawings so as to withdraw the leading one of the sheets in the supply hopper or storage magazine H0 and feed its leading edge to a point between the roller 515 and an upper roller 605, the rollers 515 and 605 constituting advancing rollers which complete the withdrawal of the sheet from the supply hopper M0 and advance the sheet toward the feed tapes or belts spaced rollers 515 and 665, the upper roller 665 is lowered into firm engagement with the upper surface of the sheet. The roller 615 is, during use of the machine, constantly driven in a clockwise direction (as viewed in Fig. 2) by the belt 413, the pulley 48! -which is driven by the belt 419 being fixed on the projecting end of the shaft which supports and drives the roller 515,

as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The means for actuating'the separating roller 666 and for raising and lowering the upper advancing roller 665 will be described in detail hereinafter.

The retard roller 66! is in the present instance preferably formed from rubber and is mounted on a supporting shaft 6!6 which extends between and is carried by the two arms 512. In order to provide for adjustment of the upward projecting of the retard roller 66! into the bottom of the hopper M6, the retard roller 66! is mounted'concentrically with respect to the axis of the shaft Bill, and the shaft 6l6 is eccentrically mounted by means of eccentric end portions- 6!!, as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Thus by rotating the shaft H6 in a counterclockwise direction about the axis of itseccentric supporting (and portions 6!!, the retard roller 66! may be caused to project to a greater extent in an upward direction into the space between the lower flanges 592 and .592 of the storage magazine or supply hopper 4l-6. This adjustment, in effect, forces the retard roller 66! against the separating roller 666 with a greater force,and such adjustment. may be-utilized in securing the desired feeding or separating action upon the sheets, envelopes or thelike stored in the storage magazine 4!6.' F

The manner of engagement of the leading-edge of the leading sheet in the storage magazine'or supply hopper4l6 with the retard roller 66! has a marked ffect upon the separating action attained in the machine, and to provide for adjustment of this engagement a pair'of spaced guide fingers 6!2 are provided on opposite sides of the retard roller 66!. The guide fingers 6!2 are pivoted on the mounting bar- 58! as shown in Fig. 2, and project-to the right on opposite sides of the retard roller 66!. The two guide fingers 6l2 ar connected by a'web -6!5 so; as to move in unison and spring means acting upon a portion of the web which is located to the right of the mounting rod 58! acts to urge the effective right-hand ends of the fingers 6! 2 in aljdownward direction. Means is provided for adjusting the fingers 6!2 in an upward direction so as to expose a'gradually smaller portion of the peripheral edge of the retard roller 66! to the leading edge of the leading sheet in the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper 4!6. This end is attained in the present instance by an adjusting screw 6l6 mounted in the left-hand portion of the web H5 and acting against a reaction block 6!! which extends between the two mounting rods 56! and 562. The reaction block 6!! pro- 'jects to the right beyond the rod 58! and a spring 6!!) acts between this end of the block 6!! and the web 6!5 to provide the aforementioned spring biasing means. The block 6!! and the g 3 two guide fingers 6!: are freely shiftable upon the mounting bars 68! and 583 so as to move with the retard roller 66! as it is adjusted along the shaft 6l6. Such adjustment of the retard roller 66! is desirable in order to permit most efficient feeding of the different types of sheets which may be fed from the storage magazine or supply hopper 4! 6.

It will be observed that the retard roller 66! has a central sleeve 626 preferably formed from metal and upon which the rubber or like resilient portion of the retard roller 66! is mounted. This sleeve 626 embraces the mounting shaft 66!, and the sleeve 626 is connected to a mounting hub 62! which embraces the shaft MD as shown in Fig. 4 of the drawings. A set screw (not shown) passes through the mounting hub 62! and engages the flattened portion 622 of the shaft 6!6 so that the retard roller 66! is held against rotation and may be secured in different adjusted positions longitudinally of the shaft 6).

The separator roller 666 is mounted directly above the retard roller 66!, and is arranged to maintain substantially the same relationship with respect to the retard roller 66! when the angle of slope of the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper 4 6 is adjusted. To this end the separator roller 666 is mounted on a shaft 636 which v projecting end portion 6!! of the shaft H6.

The mounting links 63! and 632 are maintained in their substantially vertical positions by means of a pair of positioning links 633 and 634. The links 633 and 634 have their left-hand ends pivotally connected to the upper ends of the links 63! and 632 by means of a shaft 635 which connects the upper ends of the two links 63! and 632, and the right-hand ends of the two links 633 and 634 are pivotally mounted on a stationary axis provided by a mounting shaft 636 which connects the upper ends of the two mounting plates 462 and 463. Thus when the mounting frame 516 is raised or lowered to vary the angle of the supply hopper M6, the two links 63! and 632 are in effect raised, and yet these links are held in substantially vertical relationship by the guiding action of the two links 633 and 634.

The separating roller 666 is splined to the- U-shapedr guide member 646, the downwardly extending side portions 64! of which are mounted ;-'on the connecting shaft 635 and extend downwardly-so as to embrace the shaft 636 upon which thesep'arating roller 666 is mounted. Thus the side portions 64!"-1o'f.the' guide member 646 are d sposed on opposite sides of 'theseparating roller 6'66, and in the present instance, the side portions 64! of the guide member 646 have bearing means (not shown) associated therewith so as to prevent objectionable wearing action between the side members and the shaft 636. Between the two side members 64! a sleeve 643 surrounds the shaft 635, and when the guide member 646 and the separating roller 666 have been adjusted a thumb screw 644 in the cross bar of the guide member 646 is tightened to press the sleeve 643 against the shaft 635 and thereby hold the separator roll assembly against lateral movement from the-desired adjusted position. In the present instance the two side members 64! serve to support a pivoted plate 656 on the bottom of which a. suitable abrasive such as sandpaper may be mounted to run against the effective surface of the separator roller 666 and thereby prevent objectionable glazing of this surface. The supplemental rollers 666 are also mounted on the shaft 636, as by means of a splined connection so that these rollers 666' may be readily shifted to different positions as dictated by the size and character of the sheets which are to be fed.

It will be recognized that when the separator roller 666 has advanced the leading sheet into the space between the advancing rollers 515 and 665 and these two rollers have continued the withdrawing movement of the leading sheet, such action of the advancing rollers 515 and 665 will impart continued movement to the separating roller 666, even though the positive driving means of the separating roller 666 may have completed its driving strike, and means is therefore provided to stop the rotative movement of the separating roller 666 as soon as a sheet has been completely withdrawn from the space between the'separating roller 666 and the retard roller 6 6.

As shown in Fig. 5 of the drawings thi means comprises a pair of metallic clips 65!, the upper ends of which embrace or rest upon opposite sides of the shaft 635 and the lower ends 652 of which embrace a replaceable brake section 653 provided on the shaft 636. A screw and nut device 654 extends through the intermediate sections of the member 65!, and aspring 655 which surrounds the screw 654 between its head and the adjacent one of the members 65! may be tensioned by tightening of the screw and nut device 65! so as to exert the desired braking action upon the Shaft 636, w

The desired adjustment of the retard roller 66! about its eccentric mounting provided by the eccentric end portions 6!! of the shaft 6!6 is provided by means which in the present instance is mounted on the link 63!. This means is best shown in Figs. 1, 4 and 5 of the drawings, and in Fig. 4 it will be observed that an arm 666 is provided on the shaft 6!6 adjacent to the link 63!. The arm 666 project to the left from the shaft 6!6, and has a link 66! pivoted thereto. The link 66! extends upwardly through a laterally projectingear 662 formed on the upper end of the link 63!. The upper portion of the link 66! is crew threaded, and a knurled nut 663 is threaded on the upper end of the link so as to bear against the ear 662. Beneath the ear 662 an expansion coil spring 666 surrounds the link 66! and bears downwardly against a shoulder (not shown) formed on the link 66!, so that the spring 668 acts between this shoulder and the lower face of the car 662 to force the link 66! downwardly and maintain the nut 663 in engagement with the ear 662. A spring arm 665 mounted on the link 63! bears against the knurled edge of the nut 663 thereby to maintain the nut 663 in adjusted position.

The drive means for the separator roll 666 is preferably arranged so that it may be actuated manually when an operator desires to feed a sheet from the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper M6 to printing position for the performance of the first printing operation, and this actuating means is also arranged so t at it is automatically operated as an incident to the operation of the printing machine, with which the new sheet separating device is employed, through a printing cycle. The manual actuating mean for the separator roller 666 comprises a lever 616 pivoted at its lower end on the projecting end of a shaft 61! which is mounted so as to extend between the two mounting plates 462 and 463. The lever 616 extends upwardly and has a manual actuating handle 612 mounted thereon. Below the handle 612 one end of a rack 615 is pivotally connected to the lever 616, and the rack 615 extends to the right from the lever 616 through a guide bearing 614 which is pivotally mounted on the projecting end of the shaft 636. The rack 615 is connected to the shaft 636 by a one way drive means such that rocking movement of the lever 616 erves to impart rotation to the shaft 636 in but one direction, which in the present instance is a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2. This one way driving connection, as herein shown, comprise a relatively wide pinion 616 which is freely mounted on the shaft 636 so as to be maintained in mesh with the rack 615 by the guide bearing 614. Thus when the pinion 616 is rotated first in one direction and then in the other direction during a complete stroke of the manual actuating lever 616, and the resulting rotation of the pinion 616 in a counterclockwise direction is transmitted to the shaft 636 by a suitable ratchet means. This ratchet mean comprises a disc-like member 611 fixed to the shaft 636 and having a plurality of spring pawls 618 fixed thereon so as to engage the teeth of the pinion 616. The pawls 616 are of course so arranged a to transmit movement of the pinion 616 in but one direction. A coil spring 686 acting between the lever 616 and a stud on the mounting plat 462 serves to urge the manual actuating lever 616 to a normal right-hand position as viewed in Fig. 1, and when an operator desires to feed a sheet from the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper 4l6, the actuating lever 616 is moved to the left so as to impart counterclockwise rotative movement to the shaft 636 and the separator roller 666. When the lever 616 has reached the'left-hand limit of it movement, it is released by the operator and returns through an idle stroke under the yielding force exerted by the spring 686. In the feeding of different sizes and types of sheets or forms. it is sometimes desirable to vary the extent of the rotative movement to be applied to the separator roller 666 in each feeding or separating operationthrough a rocking movement each time the print-' ing mechanism of the printing machine, with which the new sheet-separating device is employed, is operated through a printing cycle. To this end an arm 665 is fixed on the end of the shaft 61! adjacent to the lever 616, and means is provided on the arm 685 whereby rocking movement of th shaft 61! in a counterclockwise direction from the position shown in Fig. 4 imparts a'similar counterclockwise movement to the lever 616, and this connection is such that the manual lever 616 may be actuated manually without imparting movement to the shaft 61l. In the present instance this connection is provided by a hook-like pawl 686 which is pivoted on a stud 681 which project from the arm 686. The pawl 686 is adapted to engage a pin 680 which projects from the lever 610, and spring means is provided which urges the pawl 686 into such engagement. In the present instance this yielding force is ex erted upon the pawl 686 through a lever arm 688 which is pivoted on the stud 681. At its lower end the lever arm 689 carries a pin 690 which projects rearwardly so a to be engageable with the lefthand edge of a depending tail portion 69! provided on the pawl 606. A spring 692 act between the pin 690 and a portion .693 of the arm 685 so as to urge the lever arm 688 in a counterclockwise direction, thereby to urge the' pawl 686 toward its engaging relationship with respect to the pin 686 carried by the arm 610.

The desired rocking stroke for the rock shaft 611 is in the present instance obtained in timed relation to the operation of the printing machine by means of a direct mechanical connection between the driving mechanism of the printing machine, with which the new sheet separating device is employed, and the rock shaft 6.

The rocking movement imparted to the lever 610 by the rockshaft 6" is also utilized to impart operative movement to certain other mechanisms embodied in or associated with the new sheet separating device. One such mechanism is the means which supports the upper advancing rollto urge the cam roller 163 toward an engaging relation with respect to the lower edge surface of the cam slot 162. When the lever 610 is in its right-hand or normal position shown in Fig. l, the upper advancing rollers 605 are engaged with the lower and constantly driven advancing roller 515, and the cam roller 163 is slightly spaced from the lower surface of the slightly enlarged lefthand end of the cam slot 162. When the lever 610 is actuated to the left in Fig. 1, the lower surface of the cam slot 162 engages the cam roller 163 and operates to move the upper rollers 605 to their elevated positions, and when the lever 610 is allowed to return to its right-hand position, after having imparted the desired separating movement to the separating roller 600, the advancing rollers 605 are again lowered to their active positions so that the advancing movement of the sheet thus separated may be continued until the sheet has been engaged with the belt 3. In such advancing movement the leading edge of the sheet is advanced in a somewhat downward direction, and proper feeding movement is facilitated in the present instance through the provision of a resilient member 161 which is secured to the mounting bar 526 so as to project across the top of the adjacent leg structure 4M and longitudinally of the guideway M2 in the direction of the printing or operating position. The member 161 is carried by an adjustable mounting bracket which is generally similar to the belt guiding brackets 525 insofar as the maners 605. These advancing rollers 605 are supported on a shaft 150 which is carried at the ends of arms 15! which are in turn fixed to a rockshaft 152. The rockshaft 152 is supported between the mounting plates 462 and 463, and by rocking movement imparted to the rockshaft 152, the upper advancing rollers 605 may be elevated to their inactive positions, or maybe-lowered to their active positions wherein they bear against the lower,- constantly driven, ,advancing roller 515. The lower advancing roller 515 is in the form of a substantially continuous cylinder having a roughened or knurled surface, while the upper advancing rollers 605 are in the form of rubber-faced discs, which are splined to the shaft 150' for adjusting movement therealong.

Thus one or more of the upper advancing rollers 605 may be utilized, and the other of these rollers may be shifted to inactive or out of the Way positions adjacent to the ends of their supporting shaft.

The upper advancing rollers 605 are urged toward their lower or active positions by means of a pair of springs 155 which act on the two arms 15l as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. Means is provided in association with the actuating lever 610 for shifting the upper advancing rollers 605 to their elevated inactive positions, and for lowering these rolls after the leading edge of a sheet has been fed between the rollers 515 and 605 through the action of the separating roller 600. To this end a cam plate 160 has its lefthand end pivoted to the arm 610. The cam plate 160 extends forwardly and has a guide slot 16l formed therein which engages a guiding means provided by the projecting end of the shaft 152. The cam plate 160 has a cam slot 162 formed therein somewhat to the left of the guide slot 16L and the lower edge surface of the cam slot 162 is engaged by a cam roller 163 which is carried on the end of the arm 165 fixed tothe shaft 152 just rearwardly of the cam plate 160. Thus the springs .155 act on the rock shaft 152 so as ner in which it is associated with the mounting bar 526.

The operative movement of the cam plate is also utilized to impart timed operative movement to a detecting means which is provided in the new sheet-separating device for detecting the absence of a sheet between the advancing rollers 515 and 605. This detecting means comprises a feeler finger which is fixed on a rock shaft 11" so as to project in a left-hand direction therefrom. The rock shaft 18| extends between the two mounting plates feeler finger 180 is disposed so as to extend to the left from the rock shaft 16l to overlie an annular groove 183 formed in the lower advancing roller 515. The rock shaft 18! is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 2 so as to tend to maintainthe feeler finger 180 in a lowered or active position. This end is attained by a coiled torsion spring 184 which surrounds the rock shaft 18l and acts between this shaft and the plate 462.

The desired detecting movement is imparted to the feeder finger 180 under the control of the cam plate 160, and for this purpose the cam plate 160 has its lower edge surface formed adjacent the right-hand end thereof to provide a cam surface 186. This cam surface is adapted to engage a cam roller 181 which is mounted on the forward end of the forwardly projecting arm 186, this arm 188 being fixed to the rock shaft 18L When the cam plate 160 is in its right-hand or advance a sheet from the supply hopper M0 to a position between the two advancing rollers 515 and 605, the cam plat allows thefeeler finger 462 and 463, and the movement of the feeler ing of two or I90 to be lowered with event that a sheet has hopper 410, the feeler upper surface of this a yielding action. In the been fed from the supply I comes to rest on the sheet, while in the event that a sheet has not been fed from the supply hopper, the feeler finger is lowered for an additional distance and into the annular groove I88. Such additional movement of the feeler finger into the groove I83 constitutes the detecting finger, and in such movement the feeler finger I80 is arranged to actuate means which causes the operation of the printing machine to be stopped at the end of the cycle of operation then in progress. In the present instance this means comprises a normally open switch I90 (Fig. 3) which is of the spring blade type. The switch 190 is mounted in a housing I9I which is disposed just above the rock shaft I52 and is held in position by a mounting bracket I93 carried on the shaft 636. To close the switch I90 in the course of a detecting movement of the feeler finger 180, an arm I94 is provided on the rock shaft I8I so as to extend upwardly just to the right of the contact ends of the blades of the switch I90. On the arm I94 an adjustable switch closing screw 195 is mounted, and this screw is so adjusted that when the movement of the feeler finger I80 is stopped by engagement with a sheet of paper, the switch I90 is not actuated to its closed position, while when the feeler finger I80 moves into the annular groove I83, the screw I95 engages the right-hand blade of the switch I90 and closes the switch.

The second detecting means which is provided in the machine operates to detect the feeding of more than one sheet from the supply hopper, and this second detecting means includes a sensing finger 800 which is disposed beside the feeler finger I80. The detecting finger 800 is somewhat hook-like in form at its lower end and is positioned relatively close to the peripheral surface of the lower advancing roller 515. The detecting member 800 extends upwardly and is pivoted at 80I on a supporting block 802 so that engagement of a rapidly advancing sheet with the left-hand edge of .will be observed that when the screw 805 engages the switch I90, the other the adjacent contact of is in effect held against contact of the switch movement by an adjustable back-up screw 806 which is shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A similar backing-up action is attained by the screw 805 when the switch I90 is closed through the operation of a feeler finger I80 and its associated screw I95, this action being attained through the mounting of a detecting member 800 in such a manner that its movement in a clockwise dire'ction about its pivot is limited by abutment of a portion of the detecting member with a portion of the mounting block 802. The detecting member 800 is urged to this position by a spring 801 as shown in Fig. 2 of the drawings. The operation of the detecting member 800 must, of course, be rendered dependent upon the feedmore sheets from the sheet storage magazine or supply hopper H0 and means is therefore provided for vertically adjusting the mounting block802, thereby to vary the spacing between the lower face of the detecting member the detecting member 800 mayimpart pivotal detecting movement to the de- 800 and the peripheral surface of the roller 515. Such an adjustable mounting is provided on the mounting bracket I93 which, as shown in Fig. 2, has a vertical bore 908 into which a sleeve-like upward extension 809 of the mounting block 802 projects. The upper end of the bore 808 has a reduced section through which an adjusting screw 8I0 projects downwardly into threaded engagement with the internally threaded surface of the sleeve-like extension 809. An expansive spring 8 surrounds the screw 8I0 within the bore 000 so as to urge the mounting block 002 in a downward direction, and this action serves to hold the lower face of a knurled head N2 of the screw 8I0 against the top of the mounting bracket I93. Thus by rotation of the screw 810, the mounting block 802 and the associated detecting finger 800 may be raised against the force of the spring 8 or may be released for gradual downward movement by the spring. A retaining spring 8I3 fixed on the mounting bracket I93 engages the knurled edge of the head 8l2 thereby to hold the same in adjusted position. In practice the adjusting screw 8l0 is operated so ,that a single sheet may be fed between the roller 515 and the detecting finger 800 without actuation of the detecting finger, and this adjustment is so made that when two sheets are fed, the upper sheet will strike the detecting finger 800 and so actuate the detecting finger that the switch I will be closed and operation of the machine stopped.

It will thus be seen from the foregoing description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings that the present invention affords a novel and relatively efficient sheet separating device which may be used in conjunction with printing machines such, for example, as that shown in my aforesaid application and accomplishes the foregoing and other objects of the invention and has the desirable advantages and characteristics including those hereinbefore pointed out and others which are inherent in the invention.

I claim:

I. In a sheet feeding mechanism, a supply magazine having loading and discharge ends, lower and upper advancing rollers mounted adjacent to the discharge end of said supply magazine, means supporting said supply magazine for tilting movement about the axis of said lower advancing roller to raise and lower the loading end of said supply magazine, a non-rotatable retard roller and a rotatable separating roller disposed in opposed relation between the discharge end of said supply magazine and said advancing rollers, and means supporting said retard roller and said separating roller for adjusting movement in unison with pivotal adjusting movement of said supply magazine.

2. In a sheet feeding mechanism, a supply magazine having a discharge end, lower and upper advancing rollers mounted adjacent to the discharge end of said supply magazine, a mounting frame supporting said supply magazine for tilting movement about the axis of said lower advancing roller to raise and lower the other end of said supply magazine, a non-rotatable retard roller and a rotatable separating roller each movement in unison with pivotal adjusting movement of said supply magazine.

3. In a sheet feeding mechanism, a supply magazine having a discharge end, lower and upper advancing rollers mounted adjacent to the discharge end of said supply magazine, a mounting frame supporting said supply magazine for tilting movement about the axis of said lower advancing roller to raise and lower the other end of said supply magazine, a non-rotatable retard roller and a rotatable separating roller each carried in fixed rotative relation on an individual mounting shaft and disposed in opposed relation between the discharge end of said supply magazine and said advancing rollers, bearing means supporting said retard roller and said separating roller on said mounting frame for adjusting movement in unison with the adjusting movement of said supply magazine, and adlusting means carried by said bearing means and operable to vary the relative spacing of said retard and separating rollers.

4. In a sheet feeding device, an inclined sheet storage magazine having loading and discharge ends, upper and lower sheet advancing rollers mounted adjacent the discharge end of said sheet storage magazine, means for adjustably for adjusting movement with said sheet storage A magazine.

5. ,In a sheet feeding device, an inclined sheet storage magazine having loading and discharge ends, upper and lower sheet advancing rollers mounted, adjacent the discharge end of said sheet separating roller relative to each other.

LAWRENCE H. MORSE. 

